[Adopted 11-10-2011 by Ord. No. 10-20-2011C]
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
Towing as defined in this section and other ancillary services
as may be specified by the Director of the New Jersey Department of
Consumer Affairs by regulation.
The Borough of Haledon, Passaic County, New Jersey.
A charge by a towing company for releasing a motor vehicle
to its owner or operator when the vehicle has been, or is about to
be, hooked or lifted by a tower but prior to the vehicle actually
having been moved or removed from the property.
Includes all vehicles propelled otherwise than by muscular
power, excepting such vehicles as run only upon rails or tracks and
motorized bicycles, motorized scooters, motorized wheelchairs and
motorized skateboards.
The towing of a motor vehicle without the consent of the
owner or operator of the vehicle.
An individual, a sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation,
limited liability company or any other business entity.
The owner or lessee of private property, or an agent of such
owner or lessee, but shall not include a private property towing company
acting as an agent of such owner or lessee.
The nonconsensual towing by a motor vehicle from private
property or from a storage facility of a consumer's motor vehicle
that is parked illegally, parked during a time at which such parking
is not permitted, or otherwise parked without authorization, or the
immobilization of or preparation for the moving or removing of such
motor vehicle, for which a service charge is made, either directly
or indirectly. This term shall not include the towing of a motor vehicle
that has been abandoned on private property in violation of N.J.S.A.
39:4-56.5, provided that the abandoned vehicle is reported to the
appropriate law enforcement agency prior to removal and the vehicle
is removed in accordance with N.J.S.A. 39:4-56.6.
The moving or removing from public or private property or
from a storage facility by a motor vehicle of a consumer's motor
vehicle that is damaged as a result of an accident or otherwise disabled,
is recovered after being stolen, or is parked illegally or otherwise
without authorization, parked during a time at which such parking
is not permitted, or otherwise parked without authorization, or the
immobilization of or preparation for moving or removing of such motor
vehicle, for which a service charge is made, either directly or indirectly.
Dues or other charges of clubs or associations which provide towing
services to club or association members shall not be considered a
service charge for purposes of this definition.
Any device in, upon or by which a person or property is or
may be transported upon a highway.
It is the purpose of this article to curtail the occurrence of predatory towing within the Borough of Haledon by regulating nonconsensual towing from private property not being performed on behalf of the Borough. This article is specifically not intended to nor shall it apply to any recovery, tow or storage of any motor vehicle of any type whatsoever performed at the request of, on behalf of, or for the Borough of Haledon or its Police Department, which is governed by Chapter 369, Article I, and contract between the Borough and the towing operator.
A.
No person shall offer to perform, or engage, or attempt to engage
in the business of towing unless registered with the Borough.
B.
An application for registration shall be made annually, on or before
March 1 of each year, in writing to the Borough Clerk, in the form
prescribed by the Borough Clerk, and shall be accompanied by a fee
of $150.
C.
The applicant shall state the complete street address of the location
or locations from which the business of towing shall be conducted,
indicating which is its principal location and which are its storage
facilities. The applicant shall state whether its storage facilities
are secured or unsecured.
D.
The applicant shall enumerate the types of towing services that the
applicant intends to provide and a description of the towing vehicles,
including vehicle registration number, weight, number of wheels and
purpose, with which the applicant intends to provide the services.
E.
The applicant shall provide the name, address and driver's license
number of the applicant and any employees of the applicant who are
expected to be involved in the operation of the applicant's vehicular
equipment for the towing of motor vehicles. The applicant shall authorize
the background check of the applicant and each of its employees, including
the obtainment of a New Jersey driver's abstract.
F.
The application shall include a valid original certificate of insurance
from an insurer authorized to do business in the state for each of
the insured motor vehicles that are to be utilized by the applicant,
including the amounts of the garage keeper's legal liability
coverage, and any on hook coverage as an endorsement or contained
in a separate schedule, and liability insurance coverage which meets
or exceeds the amount of $1,000,000 single limit, per accident or
occurrence.
G.
The applicant shall include a schedule of the services that the applicant provides and the fee charged for each service, which shall meet the requirements of § 369-18.
H.
The applicant shall disclose whether the applicant, or a person with an interest of 10% or more interest in the applicant, or any towing company in which such person has an interest of 10% or more, is subject to any of the disqualifications specified in § 369-16.
I.
The applicant shall furnish any additional information concerning
the personnel, vehicles, equipment and storage facilities of the applicant
as may be required by the Borough Clerk or Chief of the Borough Police
Department during the review of the application.
J.
If any of the information required in the application changes, or
if additional information should be added after the filing of the
application, the applicant shall provide that information to the Borough
Clerk, in writing, within 30 calendar days of the change or addition.
Any application to add an additional driver during the license term
shall be accompanied by a fee of $25.
K.
All applications filed with the Borough shall be granted or denied
by the Borough Clerk, based upon the recommendation of Chief of the
Borough Police Department, or his designee, upon review of same.
L.
Upon issuance of the registration, the Borough Clerk shall provide
the registrant with decals and accompanying notices to be affixed
to each motor vehicle identified in the application as owned or leased
by the registrant to be used to perform towing services.
A.
The Borough Clerk may refuse to issue or may suspend or revoke any
registration issued by him/her upon the recommendation of the Chief
of the Borough Police Department or upon other proof that the applicant
or holder of the registration or, if the applicant is an entity, a
person with an interest of 10% or more in the applicant or holder
of a registration, or any towing company in which such person was
a person with an interest of 10% or more and was serving in such capacity
at the time the conduct or conviction required to be disclosed occurred:
(1)
Has obtained a registration through fraud, deception or misrepresentation;
(2)
Has engaged in the use or employment of dishonesty, fraud, deception,
misrepresentation, false promise or false pretense;
(3)
Has engaged in gross negligence or gross incompetence;
(4)
Has engaged in repeated acts of negligence or incompetence;
(5)
Has had a towing operation registration or license revoked or suspended
by any other state, agency or authority for reasons consistent with
this section;
(6)
Has violated or failed to comply on more than three occasions with
the schedule of tariff or fee regulations herein; or
(7)
Has been convicted of:
(a)
A crime under Chapter 11, 12, 13, 14 or 15 of Title 2C of the
New Jersey Statutes;
(b)
Motor vehicle theft or any crime involving a motor vehicle under
Chapter 20 of Title 2C of the New Jersey Statutes; or
(c)
Any other crime under Title 2C of the New Jersey Statutes relating
adversely to the performance of towing services or the storage of
motor vehicles as determined by the Chief of the Borough Police Department.
B.
A final refusal to register or the suspension or revocation of a
registration by the Borough Clerk shall not be made except upon reasonable
notice to the applicant or registrant and an opportunity for the applicant
or registrant to be heard.
A.
No person shall tow any motor vehicle parked for an unauthorized purpose from any privately owned parking lot, from other private property or from any common driveway without the consent of the motor vehicle owner or operator, unless the person is registered with the Borough, is authorized to act by the owner of the private property as set forth in Subsection B, and there is posted in a conspicuous place at all vehicular entrances to the property, which can easily be seen by the public, a sign no smaller than 36 inches high and 36 inches wide stating:
(1)
The purpose or purposes for which parking is authorized and the times
during which such parking is permitted;
(2)
That unauthorized parking is prohibited and unauthorized motor vehicles
will be towed at the owner's expense;
(3)
The name, address, and telephone number of the towing company that
will perform the towing;
(4)
The charges, which shall not exceed the fee specified in the ordinance
on file with the Municipal Clerk for the towing and storage of towed
motor vehicles; and
(5)
The street address of the storage facility where the towed vehicles
can be redeemed after payment of the posted charges and the times
during which the vehicle may be redeemed.
B.
A towing company shall not remove a motor vehicle from private property without the consent of the owner or operator of the vehicle, without first obtaining the written authorization from the property owner or lessee, or its employee or agent, who shall verify the alleged violation with the Police Department by way of notification pursuant to § 369-21 hereinbelow, if it occurs during normal business hours of any premises at the location operated by the property owner or lessee authorizing the removal of the vehicle, except that general authorization in writing shall be sufficient for the removal of a motor vehicle parked on private property within 15 feet of a fire hydrant, standpipe or other water source for fighting fires; in a fire lane; in an identified handicap restricted parking area; in a manner that interferes with the entrance to or exit from the property; or if the violation occurs at a time other than during normal business hours of the premises of the property owner or lessee authorizing the removal of the vehicle.
C.
Except as provided in Subsection D of this section, the owner or person in lawful possession of private property may cause the removal of the motor vehicle parked on the property by a towing company registered and in compliance with this article if signs are posted on the property as required under Subsection A of this section or if the vehicle is parked on the property for longer than 48 hours.
D.
The provisions of this section shall not apply to a motor vehicle
parked on a lot or parcel on which is situated a single-family unit,
or an owner-occupied multi-unit structure of not more than six units,
or in front of any driveway where the motor vehicle is blocking access
to that driveway.
E.
A towing company must release the vehicle to its owner who returns
to the vehicle before it is removed from the property. In such instances,
the towing company shall only charge the decoupling fee and not require
payment of the full basic tow fee.
A.
A towing company may only charge a service fee for the following
schedule of towing and storage services, unless otherwise provided
for by state law:
|
Service Provided
|
Fees
(not to exceed)
| ||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Full basic tow fee
|
$100
| ||
|
Administration fee
|
$30
| ||
|
Storage fee
| |||
|
Inside storage, per day
|
$35
| ||
|
Outside storage, per day
|
$25
| ||
|
Decoupling fee
|
$25
| ||
B.
A towing company may not charge a service fee for towing and storage
services which are ancillary to and shall be included as part of basic
towing services and is not included in the schedule approved by the
Borough.
C.
A towing company must accept all forms of payment, such as a debit
card, charge card or credit card, for payment in lieu of cash for
towing or storage services if the operator ordinarily accepts such
payment at his place of business.
D.
A towing company that engages in private property towing or other
nonconsensual towing shall calculate storage fees based upon full
twenty-four-hour periods a motor vehicle is in the storage facility.
For example, if a motor vehicle is towed to a storage facility at
7:00 p.m. on one day and the owner of the motor vehicle picks up the
motor vehicle on or before 7:00 p.m. the next day, the towing company
shall only charge the owner of the motor vehicle for one day of storage.
If a motor vehicle is stored for more than 24 hours but less than
48 hours, the towing company may only charge for two days of storage.
A.
No person shall tow a motor vehicle from any location within the
Borough to a storage facility or store such vehicle at a storage facility
unless the storage facility:
B.
A towing company shall provide reasonable accommodations for after-hours
release of stored motor vehicles and shall not charge a release fee
or other charge for releasing motor vehicles to their owners after
normal business hours or on weekends.
It shall be an unlawful practice for any towing company:
A.
To fail to affix on a motor vehicle used to provide towing services
the proper decal issued by the Borough.
B.
C.
To make, give, or cause any undue or unreasonable preference or advantage
or undue or unreasonable prejudice or disadvantage to any person in
any particular locality, with respect to providing towing services.
D.
To give any benefit or advantage, including a pecuniary benefit,
to any person for providing information about motor vehicles parked
for unauthorized purposes on privately owned property or otherwise
in connection with towing from privately owned property motor vehicles
parked without authorization. Nothing in this section shall preclude
a towing company, acting on behalf of a club or association, from
charging members of the club or association a fee at a rate established
by contract between the towing company and the club or association
which is lower than the rate specified in the towing company's
schedule on file with the Borough, provided that membership in such
club or association is generally available to the public.
E.
To fail, when so requested by the owner or operator of a vehicle
subject to nonconsensual towing, to release a vehicle to the owner
or operator that has been, or is about to be, hooked or lifted but
has not actually been moved or removed from the property when the
vehicle owner or operator returns to the vehicle, or to charge the
owner or operator requesting release of the vehicle more than the
decoupling fee.
F.
To charge any fee other than those charges established by municipal
ordinance or the rate specified in the towing company's schedule
on file with the Borough, or to charge a fee in an amount or for a
service not listed on the schedule on file with the Borough at the
time. Nothing in this section shall preclude a towing company, acting
on behalf of a club or association, from charging members of the club
or association a fee at a rate established by contract between the
towing company and the club or association which is lower than the
rate specified in the towing company's schedule on file with
the Borough, provided that membership in such club or association
is generally available to the public.
G.
To refuse to accept for payment in lieu of cash or an insurance company
check for towing or storage services, such as a debit card, charge
card or credit card, if the operator ordinarily accepts such payment
at his place of business.
The towing of any vehicle without the consent of the owner must
be reported to the Haledon Borough Police Department prior to the
removal of the vehicle from the property. The towing operator must
advise the Police Department of the time and place from which the
vehicle was towed, the license number, the vehicle identification
number, the make, the model and color of the vehicle, and the location
to which the vehicle was towed, in order to provide the Police Department
the opportunity to verify that the license number matches the vehicle
identification number.
A.
This section shall be enforced by the Haledon Borough Police Department.
B.
Any violation of the provisions of this section, including the failure
to register with the Borough as required herein, shall subject such
violator, upon issuance of a summons and conviction in Municipal Court,
and at the court's discretion, to a fine not exceeding $2,000,
imprisonment for a period not exceeding 90 days, or a period of community
service not exceeding 90 days, or any combination thereof.
C.
Except as otherwise provided, every day in which a violation of any
provision of this chapter or any other ordinance of the Township exists
shall constitute a separate violation.
D.
Any violation of the provisions of this section may also subject
the violator to a revocation or nonissuance of the registration required
herein.
E.
In addition to any penalties or other remedies provided herein, the
towing company that has billed a person an amount in excess of the
fee specified in its filed schedule for the service provided shall
reimburse such person for the excess cost.
F.
The maximum penalty stated in this section is not intended to state
an appropriate penalty for every violation. Any lesser penalty, including
a nominal penalty or no penalty at all, may be appropriate for a particular
case or violation.
